History:

A Thing of the Past

(Alcohol, Prostitution , Drugs and Guns)

 History has been a subject taught in schools for many years. Whether the kids in high school now get much in history education, I really don’t know.

We do know that history textbooks have always been subject to great censorship before being approved by certain people associated with them. I know, we don’t call it censorship and have fancy names for our book selections, approvals and disapprovals but by whatever name it’s called it amounts to allowing only the information that suits the approval body to be taught. Therefore, history has become suspect by some as to its reliability as some facts have been intentionally left out that do not suit our views, prejudices or preferences.

The reality is that real history is a great measuring tool of the past and a marvelous predictor of the future. All courses have some basis in the historical past using lessons learned and passed down in every field of human endeavor. Math, chemistry, geology, etc. all have their foundations in their discovery and development through history.

These past few years, we have seen an increasing movement to erase history. It seems to this writer that the recent generations pay little attention to days gone by unless they can point to them with some amount of disdain because of the events included or excluded therein and blame those past occurrences for whatever situation they are in today.

It has even been discovered that some of our old heroes had flaws, unlike the current flawless generation who stands in judgement of the old failings. The new and perfect inhabitants may well take heed from their own tendencies to wonder how the next two or three generations may view their perceived accomplishments, or lack thereof.

Recycling old ideas, prejudices, hatreds, false narratives, and omitting those that we are not comfortable with may result in continued reoccurrences of tripping over them if we do not have a way to recognize them. Like the road signs that show a dangerous curve ahead, a dip in the pavement or rough concrete coming up.

In his book, Reason in Common Sense, (Available from Amazon) the Spanish born philosopher and writer George Santayana made what has become an often quoted and misquoted statement: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That was in 1905. In 1948, Winston Churchill made a similar paraphrase in a speech to the house of commons with “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Mr. Churchill also had some things to say about socialism but we are more and more choosing to ignore those as well.

History does make us uncomfortable at times because it puts a spotlight on failures, shortcomings, and lack of foresight that was exhibited by the then thought-to-be heroes and statesmen and forefathers. It puts in glaring perspective many harsh, evil and ill-conceived practices and notions and actions. Far too many to note here but such things as the treatment of native Americans, slavery, women’s rights are certainly at the top of the list.

This historical neglect is not necessarily a new problem but is magnified today with the world wide web and twenty-four-hour news channels. This is made worse because by the fact that we have had a sense of entitlement and instant gratification on the part of a couple of generations now that have come to believe that anything they want should be theirs no matter who has to pay for it or what price has already been paid by someone else. This may not be their fault.

As one grandfather who was in line with his grandson told me at Chick-Fil-A one morning, “The children today have parents and grandparents clearing the path for them of all obstacles as if they are on bulldozers. They have not had to work to climb up and over like I did.” I observe some that have come to believe their dog has more rights than their neighbor.

One child in college asked their father how they could go about setting up an IRA savings plan with the money she was going to be earning on a part time job while at the same time asking her father for money to be put in her account to pay for her $160 hair appointment she had coming up. Save her money, spend his. She has already learned about OPM. (Other People’s Money) He did not say if he gave her the $160. I would guess he did.

With history, it is not only about the looking back that is a problem. History also poses a problem in that it can intensely illuminate the plans, programs, changes and ideas that someone wants to sell us on. Like dust on the dining room table: not easily seen with the drapes drawn. But, if held up to the light of history, many of the ideas can be seen as the same ones that failed before. Often, more than once. Like an egg that looks like it might hatch a good chick until held up to the light and is then seen to be infertile. Like the idea that habits and desires that multitudes hold fondly will not likely be legislated away as there will be those who will strive to continue them and those that will take great risks to provide them.

We are embarking on some governmental programs now and they obviously have torn the pages out of the history book that reflected badly on the ideas, if they even looked at all. Only use history if it supports your ideas, maybe. History: a thing of the past?

 Alcohol

 In 1917 the Congress of the US proposed a Constitutional Amendment to ban the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol. I wonder how many young people even know about this as they enjoy a Lite Beer with friends today.

Many people applauded this move as alcohol was considered the cause of a multitude of the problems in the country. Health, moral and social issues. Matters of public safety. There again, another big list and someone with well-intended ideas. Many someone’s. The Temperance Movement being a prime mover. The idea to many seemed a logical solution. Remove the evil thing that people liked, craved and engaged in and the problems would go away. Removing the desire for the item and the urge to have it proves a little more difficult.

The proposal would eventually be ratified by the states and went into law in 1919 as the 18^th Amendment followed by the Volstead Act which spelled out the actual things that were banned.

The https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/ website lists the could’s and could not’s:

What Could People Legally Do?

The newspaper reported that it was legal to

• Drink ‘intoxicating liquor’ at home or in a friend’s home.
• Store such liquor alcohol at home.
• Buy liquor with a medical prescription.
• Make, transport and sell sacramental liquor with a government permit.
• Transport liquor from an old residence to a new residence with a government permit

What Could People Not Legally Do?

• Carry a hip flask.
• Give or receive a bottle of liquor as a gift.
• Take liquor into hotels or restaurants and drink it in the public dining room.
• Buy or sell recipes for homemade liquors.
• Ship beverage liquor.
• Store liquor in anywhere except at home.
• Make any liquor at home.
• Display liquor signs or advertisements.

Certain state laws did prohibit drinking. To no avail.

The results were that many everyday people: moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, church members, brothers, sisters, neighbors, friends and just about every other group now had law violators and criminals in their midst’s.

Millions of gallons of illegal beer ( 700,000,000 Gals EST.) were made at home. Speak Easy clubs sprang up all over the country illegally selling alcohol and politicians and law enforcement people were frequenters. Caverns in Tennessee and houses in the country.

And, the biggest disaster of all was the creation of what we now call Organized Crime. Fueled by the tremendous profits of rum running and bootlegging, what had been a group of local thugs doing gambling, protection, and prostitution now were well financed liquor barons. They now had the money to pay off police, judges, and politicians and the brute force to enforce their influence of their entire enterprises with nationwide reach. They bought and shoved their way into major industries and unions and dealt harshly with anyone who stood in their way.

Unintended consequences. The failed attempt to legislate behavior lasted until the repeal in 1933 with the 21^st Amendment. Too late to undo the harm it had caused to many and the undo the growth of the crime syndicates. No doubt, many of our otherwise wonderful ancestors were part of the criminal enterprise at some level. Illegal, yes. Stopped, no.

Prostitution

We also have laws against prostitution in forty nine of the fifty states, including Georgia. Some estimates put the prostitution business in Atlanta at $290,000,000 and I would bet that is understated. Miami about $140,000,000.

Illegal, yes. Stopped, No.

There are said to be 1,000,000 prostitutes in the US. Again, how anyone would have a full count on these is hard to believe. Some 42,000,000 are believed to exist around the globe. Some historians say the earliest references to the trade were about 2400 BC.

Some countries have legalized prostitution knowing that they will not ever eliminate it. Germany, Thailand, Australia, and Mexico are among them. It is widely estimated that there are between 700,000 and 1,200,000 prostitutes in the European Union of 28 countries. Some say the business is $100,000,000 but, again, who could really know?

But we continue in the US, with the best of intentions, to put a stop to the business on many grounds, moral, religious, health and safety among them. Prostitution is considered one of the most dangerous professions on the planet.

A friend recently loaned me a book written by H. Gordon Frost entitled The Gentlemen’s Club, The Story of Prostitution in El Paso. In his book, Frost traces the history from the time that El Paso was a wide spot in the trail with about 175 residents through its growth as an important Texas border city.

All through that history, prostitution was a part of the local scene in El Paso. At times, with little oversight. In fact, the city turned a blind eye to the trade. And other times, when there was enough focus by the local clergy and activists’ groups, the city exercised heavy handed enforcement of prostitution laws. The buyers seldom were punished. That is still true in most places today. The sellers? They get arrested, fined, and put through quite a dehumanizing experience while their client goes home to dinner with the wife and kids.

Courts were full, arrests were made, and fines were paid. More ordinances were passed. Campaigns were won or lost on the issue. But prostitution was never run out of town but only relocated from designated red-light districts to local neighborhoods and back again. Over and over.

The games of politics and law enforcement were played and those in the business learned to roll with the punches. Illegal, yes. Stopped, no.

If we learn anything from the history of just these two failed efforts it is that when something that is in demand and popular is made illegal, it becomes more profitable and usually there are those that feel it’s worth the risks, law or no law.

The Mann Act was passed in 1910 primarily to prevent carrying any woman or girl across state lines for prostitution or any immoral purpose. A felony under Federal law. This has not prevented thousands of young women from being transported, many against their will in human trafficking, for just those reason.

Since 2007, more than 49,000 cases of human trafficking in the US have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which receives an average of 150 calls per day. These are the reported cases.

Those involved in the prostitution business come to it from many places in life. Some, of course, are victims of groups that force their participation in one manner or another. Others come to it for the financial aspect that exceeds any other means they have of earning a living, despite the risks.

The money many of these practitioners earn is used for what most of us would consider honorable reasons. Buying food for the family, as an example. Others support addiction habits. People who start out looking at this part of society often start out with disdain toward the women (and men) and end up with empathy for their plights.

So, try as we might. Legislate as we might. Punish as we might. There is no end in sight and not likely to be. Too much demand, too much money, too many buyers and too many sellers. The code names change, the facilities used change and means of promoting and selling the change but the more they change, to coin a phrase, the more they remain the same.

Many politicians, big time evangelists, business executives, entertainment celebrities, and laborers have been caught up in the life at one time or another. The conclusion is that it is here to stay at least another 5000 years or so.

Drugs

This brings us to the subject of drugs. You may have heard somewhere that drugs are basically illegal in the US and many foreign countries. This illegal status has not stopped the US drug industry (According to Rand Corporation research) in becoming an industry that does an estimated $100 Billion annually! And, again, no one really knows the true numbers.

Four illicit drugs: cocaine (including crack), heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine (meth) make up the bulk. This does not include illegal sales of prescription drugs. Once again, when something that is in demand and popular is made illegal, it becomes more profitable and usually there are those that feel it’s worth the risks, law or no law.

We declared a war on drugs, as some will recall, in about 1970. We created a new department that is now referred to as the DEA which has close to 5000 agents and several hundred people using all kinds of surveillance and intense undercover methods to put an end to the sale of illegal drugs in the US.

We have succeeded in arresting thousands of small time users and sellers and putting lots of people in jail. According to the FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, the estimated number of arrests for drug abuse violations has been increasing. Arrests of adults increased in recent years, while arrests of juveniles decreased slightly. Juveniles are defined as persons under age 18. Adults are defined as persons age 18 or older. In 1987 drug arrests were 7.4% of the total of all arrests reported to the FBI; by 2007, drug arrests had risen to 13.0% of all arrests.

(Sourced from:

Bureau of Justice Statistics Websitettps://www.bjs.gov/content/dcf/enforce.cf)

So, we may be winning the war on arrests, but it appears the war on drug use is all but lost if the $100,000,000 (?) dollar sales are any indication. In fact, many cities and states have started abandoning the practice of arresting people for use of drugs. Some states now have actually legalized the sales despite the Federal laws.

The abandonment of such enforcement results in less cases being filed and may give the appearance that the drug enforcement has reduced the huge usage problem. In fact the reduction comes from less cases and not from reduced drug use. The statistics are very nice for the law enforcement folks when they are requesting more money and more people and testifying before a Congressional Committee, however.

While raising hemp was outlawed (part of the cannabis family) growers are now making billions selling cannabis oil grown in their nurseries for medical use. This serves to make the product very profitable and highly expensive to those needing it medically. Sorry to sound repetitive, but, when something that is in demand and popular is made illegal, it becomes more profitable and usually there are those that feel it’s worth the risks, law or no law.

The total statistics are too extensive to include here but in the United States in 2012, the DEA arrested 30,476 suspects for federal drug offenses while state and local law enforcement arrested 1,328,457 suspects for drug offenses. Over the last 25 years the majority of DEA’s arrests have been for cocaine-related offenses.

What the war on drugs has succeeded in doing has been to criminalize many everyday folks, just like the Prohibition Laws, so that moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, church members, brothers, sisters, neighbors, teachers, professors, friends and just about every strata of society have violated some of these laws.

For a certainty, the laws did what the Prohibition laws did but now the scale is much larger. Some of the planet’s wealthiest are leaders of a modern-day version of the twenties Organized Crime families that we have come to call Cartels. Some estimates put the sales of illegal drugs worldwide at between $426 Billion and $652 Billion making it near the top of illegal business.

The ruthlessness and ingenuity of these groups is astounding. Using the various simplest methods with some person carrying drugs to deliver in a body cavity or back pack to custom built submarines, under the border tunnels, airplanes, jungle high tech production factories, and basement growing labs, the drug industry has flourished during this war.

Interestingly, during the past twenty years, the US has provided military protection to the world’s largest growers of drug producing plants in Afghanistan.  Drones, satellites, helicopters, feet on the ground, and informants would likely know where every poppy plant is in that country but there are probably really good reasons the military and the CIA and others have not put a stop to it if we are truly at war on drugs.

Could it be? When something that is in demand and popular is made illegal, it becomes more profitable and usually there are those that feel it’s worth the risks, law or no law.

Will we, as with alcohol, throw in the towel on drugs? May be a while yet. But we see increasing pressure to decimalize some or all. But it is good fodder for political elections and rhetoric .

We will likely see a million and a half more arrests every year for some years to come to justify the existence of another bureaucratic department and employees. While they privately recognize that even the great Sherlock Holmes occasionally visited the opium dens in London. Like it or not, this problem is not likely going anywhere.

Guns

Full Disclosure:

I should point out that I have never been directly affected by laws regarding alcohol, prostitution or drugs. (Might not admit it if I had, you know) So as a matter of fact, the severity and absurdity that comes with these laws have not impacted me directly. But who’s to say that people I know, my neighbors, family members and others have not. But I say put ‘em in jail, fine ‘em, or whatever and it wouldn’t bother me, I guess.

Maybe we need more severe laws on cocaine, for example. Rights, The Bill of Rights, and the Constitution be hanged!

I grew up around guns and in homes with guns. My father and mother never owned guns until they moved back to the country and my dad bought an over and under .22/410 and later a .22 semi auto rifle. These became keepsakes and have probably not been fired in years.

My grandparents had single and double-barrel shotguns standing in the corner of the bedrooms. There were usually two boxes of shells: one box of bird shot and one of buck shot. The buckshot were used as part of the home security system. I never knew of them being used. But everyone knew that every rural house had this same system thereby discouraging the home invasion and burglary attempts as someone was usually home and grandma knew had to use the security system.

Kids never bothered the guns and I never knew of anyone who was injured by them. The kids were told to leave them alone and they usually did.

The next big business opportunity for huge illegal gains will likely be guns. With this topic being one that becomes a hot topic every time some idiot or mad man decides to make some statement by shooting people for no sane reason.

By some estimates, 42% of US homes have guns. If this is accurate, nearly half the folks you meet have some form of firearm at home. My uninformed guess is the number is actually unknown. For many years guns were made with no serial numbers and no record of their sales. And, these were often handed down from one generation to another. Some are, of course, merely keepsakes and have been out of sight and out of mind for years.

But I have been amazed in conversations over the past few years as to how many people I would have never dreamed had a firearm in their home actually have them in the handbag or car center console. Some have them in both places. Talking to one lady I was startled to learn she had three handguns.

Around the world and in the US the number of firearms is a matter of whose estimate you chose to use. There are well over a billion in the world by many estimates. Although many socialist and communist countries have tried to disarm their citizens, many of those same countries actually manufacture and distribute guns for financial gain.

Just a note, in Sweden, a Swede may be given a license to own up to six hunting rifles, ten pistols or a combination of eight rifles and pistols. There would need to be a valid reason for ownership of more firearms. It is stipulated that all firearms are to be stored/kept in an approved gun safe. With Ten million people, Sweden had 124 murders last year. Guns don’t seem to be a problem there.

The most widely used and most recognizable firearm in the world is not made in the US and is not the AR15 which is so talked about. Not even close.

The AK-47 rifle was put in to production in 1947 (hence, the 47 designation) in Russia and was designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov (the K in AK-47. The A was for Avtomat or machine). Some 100,000,000 have been produced in Russia and other Communist block countries since that time. Arguably the most destructive weapon of all time.

Featuring selective firing options from single to fully automatic, this is the choice of weapons for drug cartels and bad guys around the world. There are stories of US service men throwing down their M16’s in Vietnam and picking up AK’s from enemy troops and their ammo. US troops were discouraged from using their M-16’s in the fully auto mode as they would seize up when they got hot. The AK’s are known for their reliability. This gun is still produced in some countries and there are new improved versions entering service in Russia.

I bought my first gun when I was about thirteen or fourteen. It was a 16 Gauge single shot that I bought at Bankston’s Hardware for $25. I never fired the gun in anger and, so far as I know, no one else has either. I disposed of the gun, to my sorrow now, years ago. I’d pay a lot more to get it back.

The $25 was my pay for working on my grandfather’s farm for the summer. Really, all year. I helped him for about 12 years during school and that was the only money I was ever paid.

Guns are considered intrinsically evil by some. Just as alcohol, drugs and prostitution are/were to some others. No amount of conversation or persuasion will convince them otherwise even though far more people are killed by alcohol. The moment the alcohol, drugs and prostitution were banned were great moments in history to some. Briefly. Today, people will have a cocktail while discussing gun control.

Many came to realize that a few thousand dying from drugs and alcohol were worth it if it meant the rest did not have to give them up or be criminals. Actually, we decided that people dying from alcohol related issues wasn’t such a big deal, apparently. There are some 95,000 alcohol related deaths a year in the US. Over 14 million have alcohol related disorders. Over 400,000 young people between 12 and 17 have alcohol problems. 28 people a day in alcohol related auto accidents, 10,142 drunk driving deaths a year.

Maybe we should ban alcohol. Wait. We did that already. Let’s all drink to that!

And there are 70,630 Drug Related deaths a year. (2019). Over 2,000,000 abuse prescription drugs. Maybe we should ban drugs.

Oops. We did that and now some are saying, “Back off!”

Some might say, “Even my best friends do some cocaine once in a while. What’s the big deal?”

The biggest home-grown terrorist attack was perpetrated using a rental truck and a combined mixture of ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel. Bombs and suicide vests are popular in many countries around the world. The biggest foreign attack by terrorist in the US, of course, used commercial air liners and box cutters. We didn’t see either of those coming. We probably won’t see the next one either. Evil people are not limited by laws, just maybe inconvenienced.

There is a huge supply of guns in the world for those of evil intent. There are people ready to supply them for the same reasons they supplied alcohol in the 1920’s, drugs in the 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s, and today. And for the same reasons they kidnap and enslave young women and sell sex today: There are plenty of buyers. It’s a profitable enterprise. And, there are plenty of sellers who can find people willing to take most of the risks for them, do the dirty work. These  are expendable allowing the kingpins, godfathers, and cartel rulers to make billions with less personal risk.

The same ships, submarines, airplanes, under border tunnels and freight containers can haul them that haul thousands of tons of marijuana and cocaine. The same ships that hauled rum and liquor in bygone days.

Many honest, every day people will be criminalized. Some people will give up their guns of every description because they are law abiding citizens even if they are opposed to the law itself. But none of the bad guys will.

CNC machines will turn out guns in the same basements that were making meth and for the same reasons: When something that is in demand and popular is made illegal, it becomes more profitable and usually there are those that feel it’s worth the risks, law or no law.

With almost half of our population having and owning firearms and seeing them as a right assured them in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, many will feel it is their right as an American and will not be quick to give them up.

We continue to think that punishing good people with laws and rules is a way to stop the bad people. This approach makes many feel like much has been accomplished and a lot of times whole nations have been destroyed by the over reach of power.

But history is not too popular these days. In fact, history may just be a thing of the past. Will freedom become a thing of the past, too?

We have always believed freedom was the most important thing and a large percentage of our population has not witnessed firsthand how freedom has been removed from various millions and the results were unimaginable. Many philosophical questions arise about all of the afore-mentioned problems.

We have just been through a dark time in the US with Covid. Maybe we’re still in it. The threat and fear generated showed the government of the US what can be done when these methods are used. Businesses closed, schools shut, freedom of movement restricted, freedoms diminished and maybe, the stage has been set to use these methods to further any agenda.

Maybe, if anyone is still studying history in years to come, there may be lessons to learn. Maybe, no one will remember a “land of the free and home of the brave.” And, worse, maybe no one will care because they don’t realize what was lost. Six million Jews were killed because they were Jews. Some five million others because they were targeted racial and political or behavioral reasons. Freedom was lost to them all.

Some won’t remember that being born in the US with all of its faults and flawed leaders was better than most any alternative. That the places that criticize and admonish us would all be speaking German, Russian, Chinese, or Japanese if it weren’t for the US and the sacrifices made by millions here. Maybe even Farsi.

In a song by Kris Christopherson , Me and Bobby McGee, he says these words: freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. I like the song but not that line. Freedom was worth everything for those that helped buy it. Too many today have had no part in that cost. Like a free shirt you get for Christmas from Aunt Sara: put it in the drawer and forget it.

Maybe you’ll can give up your freedoms and let me keep mine? More likely, it’s probably the other way around for a lot of folks. What has history shown us?

History: a thing of the past? We may lose sight of history and not even know it.

JC2021